


A Pirate's Death

by Thisusernameistakenagain



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:37:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisusernameistakenagain/pseuds/Thisusernameistakenagain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Solo and her crew, the Hydra Raiders, are the most feared pirates on the seven seas, so it was only right for the captain's end to come in the form of a freckle faced mermaid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a one shot put into the Sinnamon Roll collection but I got so in depth with it I figured I'd make it a multi chapter thing. This chapter is just a tidbit to start it all off. Chapters will be the backstories of the crew members and their right of passage to earn their spot aboard the Bloody Dragon as well as the death of the beloved crew.

Captain Solo was not pleased with herself. She should have known better than to head toward the island that looked like certain death, but it was the hunger and thirst of her and three of her crew members that initially drove her to do it. It was the beautiful voice she heard that made her continue towards the dangerously rocky shore. Tobin had tried to stop the captain from sailing their boat straight into the rocks until she heard it too. Not long after, Julie and Ashlyn stopped their attempts to turn the boat around, falling victim to the voices as well.

In all reality, this was probably the ending that they all deserved. This was the only death that made sense for some of the most feared pirates in the world. Mermaids. Really, _really_ beautiful mermaids with their damn siren song had caused Captain Solo and three of her crew members to crash their small dinghy on a rocky shore. Who would have thought of that? So as the captain laid there on the rocky shores covered in sand, blood, and salt, she prepared to be eaten by the once beautiful and freckle faced mermaid. She deserved this death, they all did.


	2. Sent to Prison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After accidentally murdering her husband, Hope is taken to prison. There, she meets Ashlyn Harris, a blonde woman with a plan to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There are trigger warnings for rape and domestic violence involved in this chapter. If any of these are a problem I suggest not reading this chapter or really this fic in general since it's going to be mentioned a lot.

Murder hadn’t originally been Hope’s plan, but with her abusive husband dead at her feet she figured she’d just have to go with it. She was twenty-five at the time and was tired of being beaten on by her drunk husband. Her original plan had only been to fight back and hopefully make him stop his abuse on her. However, her anger got the best of her and she’d punched him one too many times Now he was dead. The worst part was she didn’t even care.

She couldn’t run anywhere; the police were already knocking on her door, having heard the commotion while on their nightly rounds. There was nowhere to hide the body, not without the police suspecting something, and there was too much blood. She opened the door and accepted her fate as she looked the officer in the eyes, forgetting about the evidence that was on her.

“Is there a problem sir?” Hope asked.

“You have blood on your dress,” the officer stated before pushing the door open completely. He only took one look at the man dead on the floor and Hope’s bloodied knuckles before having her arrested.

The police were in no way gentle with Hope as they took her to the nearest prison. As a woman, there was no way she was getting a trial of any kind, in fact, she was surprised she wasn’t killed on the spot. She was, however, used to relieve the sexual needs of all five officers that had arrested her.

Hope felt dirty. She’d been pushed to her knees by one officer as the one in charge undid his trousers and began stroking his already hardened dick.

“Who could resist an opportunity like this with such a pretty girl like you?”

Before Hope could respond to the officer’s rhetorical question, the man stuck his dick in her mouth and placed his hands on the back of her head. The woman started choking from the feeling of the officer going too far back in her throat. It took everything in her power not to throw up. Tears formed in her eyes as the man came in her mouth and she was forced to swallow. The next time she was flipped onto her back and had her innocence stolen from her. She desperately wished she’d settled for her husband’s beatings.

Once the officers had finished their assaults on the young woman, they continued their walk to the prison. Hope never thought she would say this, but she couldn’t wait to get there. As soon as they got in the building she was taken into a room where a fire was started and a branding iron was put in the fire. Before long Hope was letting out a scream of pain as an M was burned into the flesh on the inside of her right wrist. Afterwards she was taken to a cell and thrown in with another woman, a blonde that looked to be about her age. The blonde woman looked to be the only one awake at the time.

“I’m Ashlyn,” the woman said when the officers left, sticking her hand out for Hope to shake, “but you can call me Ash.”

Ash caught a glimpse of the freshly branded M on the inside of Hope’s wrist as they shook hands.

“Manslaughter, eh?” The blonde rolled up the right sleeve of her shirt to reveal a T and an M. “Got both of these at the same time. I was robbing a house to try and get some food and had a knife with me. The owner and his wife woke up so I killed them and left with the food. You see, my parents kicked me out of the house when I was sixteen because they found out I like girls. It started out as a simple way to survive and avoid being caught, but it turned into greed. The police finally caught me about a month ago. What’s your story?”

Hope looked at Ash before replying, “I accidentally killed my abusive husband earlier this evening. Got caught by the night patrol.”

The blonde nodded in what seemed like approval. “Lucky for you, I’ve been planning an escape with a few other people. We’re getting out of here tomorrow.”

As skeptical as she was about it, Hope didn’t question it. She didn’t plan on spending her life rotting away in a cell so whatever Ash had planned she prayed would work.

“So what’s the plan?” Hope wondered aloud.

“Well first of all, there are six of us trying to escape, including you.” Ash pointed to the different cells in the cell block. “Those two over there in front of us are Becky and Heather, but Heather goes by HAO.” She pointed to a cell two cells to the left of them. “That’s Carli and Christie, she goes by Cap. Carli just so happens to be a blacksmith and knows how to break out of these cells,” the blonde explained in a hushed tone.

“Wait, Carli?”

“Yeah, why?”

“She was one of my best friends when we were growing up. I’d heard about her arrest but I never knew what happened to her.”

“Huh, well what’d you know? I definitely didn’t expect that.” Ash let out a small chuckle. “I never thought I’d get to meet the great Hope Solo.”

Hope cocked her head to the side. “How do you know my name?”

“Carli told us about you. She said you would have made a great leader if you were here. I guess she really misses you being there for her.”

The brunette nodded. “How is Carli going to break us out?”

“There are two times every day where the guards change, which is the best opportunity for us to escape since it gets chaotic at times. HAO has a few small explosives hiding in her cell that aren’t big enough to do damage, but will be enough for a distraction. Once the guards are distracted Carli will come around and work her blacksmithing magic. From there it’s just going to be whether or not you can outrun the police from here to the dock.”

“What are we going to do at the docks?”

“We’re going to steal a ship. Becky has been looking through the small window in her cell and has been keeping her eye on one. She was originally going to pilot the ship because she’s the only one that somewhat knew how, but word is you’re one of the best pilots around. Is that true?”

Hope nodded. It was true, her father had piloted a trade ship for a while and taught her everything any good pilot needed to know. He’d even let her go with him on some of his trade routes and let her pilot the ship.

“Good,” Ash smiled, “now get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

Laying on the cold hard ground in the cell, Hope couldn’t bring herself to fall asleep. She desperately wanted to shower to clean off any traces of the officer in charge and his men from earlier. Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach and rushed to the corner where she emptied the contents of her stomach. At least all traces of the officer being in her mouth were gone. She heard a slight shuffling sound and saw Ash turning in her sleep from what she assumed were nightmares. It finally came across her mind to think that maybe Ash had experienced that too. She didn’t want to think about it.


	3. Kicked Out and Orphaned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mainly Ash's backstory with other backstories and the prison escape thrown in there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I thought this out I completely forgot about Stephanie McCaffrey so I'm adding her in as an ABS. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

_Get out._ The words rang through a sixteen-year-old Ashlyn’s mind as she stumbled through the streets crying. Her parents had caught her making out with another girl and didn’t hesitate to shove her out the door. As for the girl she’d been kissing, well let’s just say Ash never saw her again.

Her name was Ali and Ash had loved her with all of her being. Ash knew that they would be found out sooner or later, but she never thought that they would be caught so soon. Ali’s parents hated gays and the blonde knew that her lover’s parents would not deal with her homosexual actions. She was killed upon the reveal to her parents through Ash’s. When the police came by and asked what had happened, they’d laughed about it and stayed to watch as her body was burned. Ash had seen the smoke and quickly fled the town, not even stopping to grieve over her love.

At first she didn’t want to steal to get the resources she needed, trying to find some sort of work so she could make money. After days of wandering around towns looking for work and being unable to get money, Ash caved into the temptation. It started with a simple piece of fruit from a fruit stand. She slipped the fruit into her jacket pocket when no one was looking and walked far away from the village before actually eating the fruit. It was the best fruit she’d ever tasted.

A couple of days after the fruit incident, Ash found work for a shipwright near a dock that she enjoyed. The only problem was, it didn’t pay very much and still left her on the streets with just enough food for one meal a day. Even though it wasn’t ideal, it was still more food than she had before. However, it still left Ash wanting more.

Not even a month later did the blonde have enough money to purchase a small shack near the dock she worked at. She had made the decision to start saving up her money so that she wouldn’t be sleeping out in the cold. In order to do this, she stole all of the food and clothing she needed from the next town over, occasionally taking some items of value to sell for more money. Greed soon became something Ashlyn couldn't avoid.

She was twenty-two when she was caught by the police and taken to the prison. It was the night she unknowingly robbed the house of one of her coworkers, killing him and his wife to avoid being caught. What she missed, however, was his son that she wasn't aware he had. He witnessed the entire encounter and alerted the police of what happened. Ash was arrested the next morning.

Rape wasn't all the officers did to strip Ash’s dignity from her. After her arrest she was taken to a popular courtyard in town and was on the receiving end of ten lashes from a whip before she was put in a carriage to be taken to the prison. The nearest town was in the city, a half day trip away from where Ash resided.

They would have arrived much sooner if they hadn't stopped to steal her innocence. Ash refused to let it happen without a fight and was beaten until she was unable to move. From there, the officers transporting her raped her then threw her back in the transport carriage to complete their journey to the prison.

She was given two different brands, a T and an M, before she was tossed in a cell unconscious. When she woke up the next day she saw that there was another girl in the cell with her.

“Oh, good, I thought you were dead,” the girl said in a relieved tone. She stood up and grabbed a plate of food that had been sitting near the front of the cell. “They left this for you.”

“Thanks,” Ash managed. Her voice was laced with pain.

The girl grabbed a second plate of food and began eating as well. She looked really young, no older than sixteen. Her brunette hair was a mess and her skin was coated in a hefty layer of grime. She’d been here for a while.

“So, are you a pirate?” the girl asked between bites of her meal.

Ash nearly choked on her food at the brunette’s question.

“No, No, never mind. If you were a pirate they would have branded you with a P and you'd be dead by now.”

When she finished coughing, Ash was finally able to reply, “Not a pirate, just a thief and a murderer.”

The girl just shrugged. “Same here, actually.” She pulled her sleeve back to reveal brands identical to Ashlyn’s. “I did what I had to to survive, maybe even got a little greedy on occasion. That's why I got caught; I let the greed get to my head.”

Ash understood every bit of what the young girl had said. “What’s your name?”

“Stephanie, but I go by Steph. What's yours?”

“Ash, short for Ashlyn.”

Steph nodded and put her cleaned plate down by her side. It was obvious the brunette didn't like thinking about her past by the way her mood has changed. Ash was glad Steph didn't ask about her story because it wasn't something she wanted to relive.

“I'm supposed to be getting out of here in a few days and I'm excited, but I have nowhere to go. I'll probably find a ship on the docks and stowaway. I just really wanna get away from here, you know?” Steph explained.

Ash nodded in understanding. She was sure the girl was only mentioning it to break the silence between them.

 “I don't have anywhere to go either, to be honest,” the blonde offered in an odd form of consolation.

“It sucks being an orphan.” Steph pulled her knees to her chest and placed her head in her hands. Ash felt awful.

“How old are you, kid?”

“Fifteen. My parents were murdered when I was eight.”

The blonde’s stomach dropped as she thought back to the son of the coworker she’d killed. No one deserved to have that happen to them. Ali would be so disappointed in her.

“I was kicked out by my parents when I was sixteen, but got lucky enough to find work by the time I was seventeen.”

Steph let out a small laugh. “That’s much worse.”

***

Before Ash knew it, Steph’s jail time was up and she was all alone in the cell. However, she had made a few friends who were planning an escape.

HAO was the wife of a gunsmith and a genius on the subject of explosives. She was brought in a few months ago after being accused of killing her husband and burning down their home. Only half of it was really true, but which part she’d never say. She’d somehow managed to sneak in a bunch of gunpowder and was able to find materials to make small explosives. Her explosives would be a major part of the plan.

Around the same time, Carli was brought in for helping pirates by selling them swords. Her husband had been shot right in front of her before she was brought to the prison. On the bright side, her husband was the blacksmith that designed the prison cells and she knew exactly how to escape. With a distraction from HOA and enough people, she was sure they could escape.

Becky had been brought in with Cap just a few weeks after Carli arrived, having been convicted of thievery. Cap was the wife of one of the biggest shipwrights in the area and Becky was almost like her adopted daughter. Becky joined Cap’s family after Cap found a starving ten-year-old Becky digging through her garbage. She offered the young girl a job at her husband’s business, which the girl gladly took.

The thievery comes into play twelve years later when Cap has an actual daughter of her own. Her daughter became deathly ill, so she had Becky steal medicine from the doctor one night. The plan clearly didn't go so well, seeing as though they were both in prison now.

With Ash there, they only needed one more person to join them so they could escape. For their plan to work they needed someone to pilot a small cargo ship that the five of them intended to steal. Becky and Cap had been the first considerations, but neither of them knew very much on the subject. They decided to wait a little while longer to see if anyone with the knowledge would join them in prison. That knowledge came in the form of Hope Solo.

***

So there they were the next morning, waiting for the guards to change. HAO found the perfect place to throw her explosives and Carli got ready to bust out of the bars. As for Hope, Becky, Ash, and Cap, they were just getting ready to run and fight. The ship they intended to steal was still docked and things were looking pretty promising for the ladies.

As soon as the guards began changing, HAO launched the explosives into the cell block next to theirs. All guards in their half of the prison were flocking the area w here the explosion was, attempting to figure out what was going on. Carli worked her magic on the cells and the women were nearly to the docks when they were spotted.

Hope climbed aboard the ship first and began barking orders at the others. Becky and Cap got the sails ready while Carli, HAO, and Ash untied the ship from the dock. With one lucky gust of wind and a small push, the ship set sail, leaving the officers in the dust. The women cheered with the realization that their escape had been successful and laughed at the guards attempting to swim after them. In all of their celebrating it didn't occur to them that there could be other

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's a shitty chapter, but I really wanted to get it out tonight. I know it seems like Steph is gone now but just wait. It gets better.


	4. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whit decides that she wants to start a new life away from her hometown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is still really awful and unrealistic but oh well. I'm still working out the kinks but it'll work itself out I promise :)

Whitney Engen hadn’t broken a rule in her life and she was proud of that accomplishment. She’d married a nice man who owned a cargo ship as well as a small fishing boat and made a decent amount of money off of them. In all honesty, she wasn’t happy with how her life was going, but the money made up for it. It was common for her husband to spoil her with gifts she didn’t want all the time. She often took the fishing boat out with Kling and Boxxy for a day of sailing when her husband was away on his cargo ship. Being on the water was a form of stress relief for her. However, when six prison escapees stole her husband’s fishing boat with her, Kling, and Boxxy on it, she started to panic.

“Excuse me, but who are you?” Whit asked the cheering women. She was trying her best not to break down at the sight of the officers shooting at the boat that was quickly leaving the docks.

The tall brunette who looked to be the leader spoke up first.

“I would be the new captain of this here ship,” she said. Her voice was oddly high pitched for someone who had such an intense and icy glare.

Kling and Boxxy chose that moment to come up from beneath the boat and check on their friend. Whit was glad, but she wished they'd stayed below. If these escapees were looking to kill anyone on board, her two friends would have been spared had they stayed below decks.

“Hey, this isn't your boat!” Kling blurted out, stating the obvious.

“You think we don't know that?” the leader asked. “We had to escape somehow. Your boat seemed to be the best option.”

Kling gulped. The leader’s steely gaze seemed to pierce her soul.

“If you have a problem with it we’re not too far from the docks. You just better be able to swim.”

Whit was seriously considering jumping overboard and swimming to the docks, but she stopped herself. Was that really what she wanted? Her husband was halfway across the world on his cargo ship, so would he really miss her? Sure, she didn’t trust the prison escapees at all, but they could be the key to a new life. That was all that kept her from jumping off. She knew the only reason Kling and Boxxy were still there was because they couldn’t swim, but they’d gladly start a new life alongside her.

“Where are you headed?” the blonde woman asked.

Their leader froze right where she was standing before mumbling something to herself.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I don’t know where we’re going,” the leader admitted. Suddenly she didn’t seem so intimidating anymore.

Lucky for them, Whit new exactly where she wanted to go. “I’ll make you a deal. I know of a really nice place we can go that’s far enough from here that you won’t get caught by police. Take me there and you can keep the ship.”

Kling looked at her friend in shock. “Whit, are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

The leader nodded her head in consideration. “Alright, we’ll take you there, but if you so much as think about turning us in, we’ll kill you.”

One look at the leader’s wrist and Whit knew she was serious about her threat. With a few sail adjustments and some more death threats from the leader, who called herself Captain Solo, they were set to arrive at their destination in a few days. Unfortunately, Whit had only packed enough supplies to last her, Kling, and Boxxy for a day, so a pit stop was to be made on Tortuga later the next day.

***

Tortuga was the exact opposite of where Whitney wanted to go. The port was popular amongst many pirates, people Whit thought she’d never come in contact with. It didn't surprise her that one of the prison escapees knew some of the pirates there. Apparently she'd made some swords for them and covered for them when the police started snooping around, so they owed her a favour. She used it to get them enough food and supplies to last for months, all including clothes and weaponry. Whit heard some names being thrown around, figuring out that the one who knew the pirates went by Carli and the leader was called Hope.

The fishing boat was too small for cannons so the prison escapees made sure they were equipped with pistols, cutlasses, daggers, and even a scimitar for Hope. Hope told Kling, Boxxy, and Whit that if they needed weapons that they could just use the belaying pins. Whit prayed to whatever was out there that they didn’t cross paths with any pirates because she knew that if it came down to it, she’d be left to fend for herself. Soon after the boat was loaded and everyone was aboard, the crew took off and headed for their next destination.

They’d been sailing for a few hours when Whit decided to ask the question that no one else seemed to be asking.

“Since we’re going to be together for a few days, I feel like we should exchange some names,” Whit said to Ash.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at the woman’s suggestion.

“What for?”

“I don’t know.”

A tense silence settled between the two women as the ship sailed into the night. Everyone else was sleeping below decks. The two had been given the duty of keeping watch first, Ash because Hope assigned her first watch and Whit because she didn’t trust Hope’s crew not to kill all of them. The captain had made the argument that her and her crew could easily kill the three of them if they really wanted to, but Whit got the feeling that they weren’t really that bad after all.

“You were so easy to leave your town,” the Ash mentioned. “Why was that?”

Whit just shrugged. “My husband is off delivering cargo in Asia and I’ve been wanting to leave him for a while now.”

“And your friends?”

“Boxxy’s husband and daughter were killed by pirates and Kling has an abusive husband. Neither of us really have anything left there for us.”

Ash nodded. “I can understand that.”

A few more moments of silence passed before Whit decided to test a line she was sure existed.

“How did all of you end up in prison?”

The blonde saw Ash kind of freeze before responding. “I, Ash, was a thief and killed some people out of greed. Captain Solo killed her husband partially by mistake and partially on purpose. Carli, the brunette who always has her hair in a bun, helped out some pirates by selling them swords and hiding them from police. Becky, the one with braided blonde hair, helped Christie, the oldest one, steal medicine from a doctor for Christie’s sick kid. HAO was arrested for killing her husband and burning down their house, but which she actually did she’ll never say.”

Whit sat there, stunned at the stories of the criminals she was travelling with. None of them seemed like they were really all that bad. She was about to respond to Captain Solo’s stories when Becky came up above deck with two stowaways in tow, both female.

“I heard some noises in the storage room and found these stowaways rummaging through our food supplies,” she told the couple keeping watch.

“Steph?”

“I told you I’d stow away,” the brunette said with a nervous smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another backstory with some more Hoodrat McCaffrey action as well as the beginning of all the actual pirating next chapter!


	5. A True Pirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crystal's history may or may not impact a crew member on the fishing boat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Why should we keep you two on the ship?” Hope questioned the two stowaways. She knew what they were on was a small fishing boat, but ship sounded better.

“I think we would be great assets to the crew,” Steph states outright. She continues when Captain Solo raises her eyebrows in question. “I’ve been stealing and fighting since I was eight. I found Crystal when I arrived in Tortuga and found out she’s been raised on a pirate ship since birth. She’s the daughter of Captain Dunn.”

***

Pirating was in Crystal Dunn’s blood. She was born on a pirate ship to one of the most powerful captains of the time. Originally, she was an accident, but her father figured that she could be a good addition to his crew when she grew up. She was trained from a very young age, learning about how to sail, repair, and defend the ship. Her father taught her all the basics of thievery and Crystal became one of the best pickpockets on the ship.

Not only did she excel in thievery, but she also excelled in hand to hand combat. By the time she was eight, she could best almost all of the men on the ship. Her small size and ability to quickly analyse situations gave her the advantage over almost anyone. It was impressive

Crystal worked hard to try and defeat her father, training for several hours a day with Quartermaster McCaffrey to improve her skills. He’d promised that he’d let her join in on one of their town raids. That was enough motivation for her since she was always wondering what went on during those raids. She wanted nothing more than to make her father proud by becoming one of the best pirates around when she got older.

Finally, when she was nine, Crystal was able to best her dad in a fight. All that hard work and training with Master McCaffrey paid off. When she finally decided she was ready to challenge her father, the whole crew gathered around and cheered her on. At first she thought that her father had decided to go easy on her, but he swore he didn’t. Either way, she was happy that she was able to go on her first raid.

The raid didn’t go as planned, but then again, they never do. Master McCaffrey was assigned by Captain Dunn to accompany Crystal during the raid. That was the first mistake. The second mistake came when Crystal and Master McCaffrey were raiding a house and Crystal was allowed to go off on her own.

Master McCaffrey had picked a two story house that only a rich family would have been able to afford. He gave specific instructions to Crystal not to go upstairs, just in case of an emergency, and made sure she knew she had to be quiet. It was very late at night, so there were police patrols wandering around the town that could easily catch them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the police that caught them.

Crystal was in the living room grabbing anything with precious metals and jewels when she knocked an oil lamp off of the fireplace mantle. The lamp wasn’t lit so they didn’t have to worry about a fire, but the owner of the house heard the shattering of the glass. Master McCaffrey was in the kitchen rummaging around for anything of value and didn’t hear the noise. When the owner of the house came down he only saw the broken lamp on the floor and heard the noise in the kitchen. His wife came down behind him, having been woken up from her husband leaving the bed. The owner headed for the kitchen to see what the noise was, but didn’t make it very far from the stairs. Crystal had been hiding in the shadows and stabbed him in the chest with her dagger.

His wife screamed and tried to make it to the door, only to be taken down by Crystal. The young girl slit her throat and stood back to see what she had done. Her legs felt weak. She’d never meant to kill; it was just a heat of the moment thing. She was young and terrified of the consequences of being caught. What she failed to notice, however, was that there was one more person standing on the stairs.

After hearing the screaming, Master McCaffrey dropped everything he was holding, silence be damned, and went to go see what was going on. He was terrified to find a husband and wife laying on the floor dead. It wasn’t the dead bodies that bothered him, he’d killed many people before and hadn’t given a shit about any of them, it was that he _recognized_ the dead bodies lying on the floor. He looked up to the stairs and saw a young girl, who would have been about eight, standing there with a stuffed bear in her hands and horror plastered on her face. She looked so much like her mother.

The tears in Steph’s eyes were enough to keep him from killing her, so instead he grabbed Crystal and ran to the ship. He made it back to the ship with a confused Crystal in his arms and questioning looks from the rest of the crew.

“We should leave,” Master McCaffrey suggested.

And so they did.

////

Seven years later, Crystal had made a name for herself as a pirate. Her father was proud of her and how much she’d accomplished over the years. She’d gone on many, many raids with her father and Master McCaffrey over the years, but the first one she went on was yet to be forgotten. The guilt she felt for killing that girl’s parents always hit her at the worst times. Sure, she’d killed a good number of people since then, but they were all pirates. She made it her goal to never kill anyone while on a raid again.

Her father was killed by some pirates a few months ago, as had Master McCaffrey. It was decided that the ship would be put under the command of one of the mates on board, so Crystal figured it was time for her to leave. She was hoping that when they arrived in Tortuga she would be able to get a spot on another ship, but couldn’t. Apparently having a woman on the ship was bad luck or whatever. That was how she found Steph.

Steph had been having the same problem with Crystal, being unable to get a spot on a ship. She ended up in Tortuga when the crew of the ship she stowed away on found her. Tortuga was the closest port they could drop her off at so that’s where they went. Many of the men tried to abuse her, but the captain wouldn’t allow it. Steph thanked the captain for his mercy and with that she was gone.

She found Crystal wandering around and asking the same captains for a position on their crew. It didn’t take long for the two to start talking and become friends. They stayed in Tortuga for about a week before Captain Solo showed up with the rest of her crew. Crystal told Steph to get their stuff because they finally found their ticket out of Tortuga.

Unfortunately, Captain Solo wouldn’t allow them on board, claiming that they were too young to join. Steph was about to give up, but Crystal wouldn’t allow it. They waited until Captain Solo and her crew left to get their supplies before sneaking onto the ship.

***

After listening to Crystal talk about her time as a pirate for her father, Captain Solo knew that she would be an important asset to their crew. She intended to use the two as powder monkeys and cabin girls when they got a bigger and better ship.

“We’re going to need a bigger ship.”

Both Steph and Crystal sighed in relief. They knew that they’d made the right decision sneaking onto the fishing boat.

“I know where we can steal one,” Crystal offered. “There’s a company near a port in Ströndin, Alvunia that makes ships for the Nakawin navy. We should easily be able to steal one.”

Captain Solo nodded her head in approval and stood up from the chair she was sitting in.

“Alvunia is about a month’s trip from here. It seems reasonable enough.”

She headed for the upper deck to go change their course for Alvunia. It was a small country, located on the Praelium continent, that was going through a time of oppression. Nakawin soldiers invaded the country after the Great War started on Praelium and used the port for supplies.

Captain Solo figured that they’d be doing the Alvunians a favour by stealing a Nakawin navy ship. She hoped that they would get some time to steal stuff of monetary value as well. Something about the thought of being able to avoid the law made something change in all of them. Captain Solo was determined to become well known around the world. Let the pirating begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in an alternate world so I figured I should probably come up with some country names (except for Tortuga). Also, I'm not quite sure how I want Steph to find out that Crystal killed her "parents" so if you have any suggestions just drop them in the comments :)

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up for the following chapters, here are the positions of the crew:
> 
> Captain: Hope Solo
> 
> Quartermaster: Carli Lloyd
> 
> Sailing Master: Abby Wambach
> 
> Boatswain: Becky Sauerbrunn
> 
> Carpenter and Surgeon: Ashlyn Harris
> 
> Master Gunner: Heather O'Reilly
> 
> Mates: Tobin Heath, Amy Rodriguez, Lauren Holiday
> 
> Riggers: Meghan Klingenberg, Megan Rapinoe, Alyssa Naeher, Sam Mewis
> 
> Cabin Girls/Powder Monkeys: Julie Johnston, Crystal Dunn, Mallory Pugh, Morgan Brian
> 
> Able Bodied Sailors (the normal sailors that help out): Sydney Leroux, Lori Chalupny, Christie Rampone, Shannon Boxx, Whitney Engen, Lindsay Horan, Emily Sonnett
> 
> Swabbie: Jaelene Hinkle
> 
> Mermaids: Christen Press, Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger, Kelley O'Hara


End file.
